Lantern7

I almost forgot The Giant Spider Invasion runs tomorrow morning. I got that on DVR now. Also, I'm regretting not keeping Laserblast. I'm surprised we didn't have a "Yongary Yonross" joke. The movie itself was pretty good . . . looks like South Korea stuck to the Japanese template for kaiju. Well, except for Yongary bleeding to death at the end. Wizards of the Lost Kingdom was also lame. Did we ever find out the deal about that snow Wookie? Maybe it's covered in the follow-up movie? I think my fave part was Crow and Servo pressing hard on Crypt Keeper impressions, Jonah calling for a moratorium, them shouting "CREMATORIUM!" and then Jonah just whacking their heads together. I've been finding lots of clips of the original show . . . it was pretty rare for Joel or Mike and the bots to come to blows.

Here's an announcement from Toonami about another anime getting delayed by COVID-19. I don't get why another season of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure isn't plugged into the slot. Fuck it, give fans a few choices and have them vote on what gets aired. Also: why not just move Shippuden to 2? If you've never seen Ballmastrz 9009? It's meh. Okay sometimes, didn't hit its stride until the second season, but that might not be enough for newcomers. Oh, and I'm guessing Black Clover will be the next casualty.

Here's a quick Excel on where things stand. I think there are two possibilities: We get three more Purgatories (two female, one male). Anyone without a Skull would be dismissed. TJ throws the Skull-needing players a bone (no pun intended) near the end, as they could contend for the Skulls lost when Jay and Jenna were eliminated. I think the best play for someone with a Skull would be to pit two other Skull holders against each other, thereby narrowing the field. Anyone have an idea on how things might play out that I'm missing?

Well, we finally got the showdown we've already wanted (#CvPNeverCounts). Of course, Johnny winds up beating Wes. The stupid thing is that both came off mature about it. It's almost like we're getting a Johnny Redemption Arc, which would fit if this is the last season ever (or at least the last one we get for a while). That doesn't sit right with me. No matter what, Johnny is the bad guy. He's been using that brand for ages. Why stop now? Once again, Wes outsmarts himself. As usual, his play was sound, but he failed yet again. Wes E. Coyote went off the cliff yet again. I don't know what was more painful for him: the fact that he will never truly one-up Johnny, or the four-hour operation to remove Josh from his jock. Josh is still extra. The kids are still not that great at trivia. Then again, who cares which act won Best Video? The VMAs are irrelevant!

*sigh* Thanks to COVID-19, Golden Wind is experiencing dub delays. Looks like we’ll be stuck on Abacchio‘s death for some time. ETA: I forgot that this popped up on Toonami last Saturday . . . "I'm a JoeStar" by Open Mike Eagle. . . . and here's the announcement on the delay from Toonami. I'm really not getting why they don't just play a past season in the interim.

But the Diamondbacks won the Series.

Didn't Arizona win the World Series the first time the World Series broke into November? Oh, and the '86 Mets are in the Dream Bracket final. Their opponents: the '01 Mariners.

Pat: Courtney, I know that you want to do good here in this cesspool of sinister disguised as a modest small town- Courtney: Get justice for the JSA! And my dad! Pat: We don't know if Sylvester is your father, and I really doubt it. Courtney: Then why did the staff choose me? Pat: Plot reasons. Look at this hall of justice. Once, it was the headquarters of the greatest superheroes on Earth- Courtney: This Earth. Pat: Don't do that. Most of them got killed eight years ago. And you're just a wonderful girl with above-average gymnastic ability, a bond with a sentient weapon, and more heart than anyone your age should have, even on a DC Comics-based series. Courtney: But. I. Want. To. Help. Pat: First of all, thank you for not clapping between words. Second, I just want you to be a kid. And I don't want to explain to your mother how you got killed by people who actually call themselves "Injustice Society of America." And I don't want to lose my temper because I got this "Strange Visitor From Planet Dad" vibe going, and I think the audience is loving it. Courtney, please . . . say you understand. Courtney: (pout) I guess. (storms off) Pat: (takes deep breath) She's not gonna listen to me. Hootie: No kidding. Should I eat the pink pen now? Keep her from grabbing that? Looks like Icicle guy is playing for keeps, AND he's got parents with suspicious accents. Meanwhile, Pat's kid is slowly skidding out of control. The only good thing with his mood: English Bulldog with Cheeto face. And yeah, Courtney looting the JSA stuff was . . . yikes. I did have a laugh about the "pink pen," because I am a flaming geek.

Finally . . . an Arrowverse season finale that wasn't cobbled together thanks to COVID-19. The weird part? If this season had 22 episodes and we had a premature finale, it would have worked in the series' favor. Legends of Tomorrow is all about leaning into the crazy. Lucky for us, the planned crazy worked out great. The biggest shame is that we'll have to wait for a long time for S6, even if things get back to normal. Sara getting beamed up was a nice swerve, seeing how the team's encounters with aliens has largely been Dominator-related. Great to see her back to "normal" and kicking ass . . . though I can see how her sudden departure would set up Ava as the leader. I'm good with it. She's the fussy yin to Sara's wild yang. Sure, she's more Hermes than Leela, but you need someone to try and corral the cats that are the Legends . . . especially since the other candidates (Amaya, Zari 1.0, Charlie) keep going away. Now . . . if we get a situation where the main couple of the show is Ava and Nate? Then yeah, that ain't a hill I"m defending. Nate is still the main putz on the team (Gary is an associate member, right?), but I like the guy. That said, maybe he should take a break from dating. If he meets a girl, and it turns out she has a Totem, then that would have to be stopped. I get the criticisms about the ships he keeps boarding and how his hemophilia has magically been forgotten . . . but then you have him fighting and dancing, as a mechanical Sisqo plays "Thong Song." That works. It's a shame we couldn't have My Two Zaris. The original gets to live in the totem, Zardashian takes her place (and I should call her "Zari" from now on), and Behrad gets to stick around . . . which is all Zari 1.0 (Zar1.0?) ever wanted. And he gets to team her with his sister, and that dynamic looks like it could work for an entire season. I am still distressed that social media is still a thing in their future. I'm happy Charlie got a nice ending, even if her forgiveness to her sister may have been inspired by Doctor Who. Maisie had a great four seasons, and I'm great with her reuniting with her band. Were they dead? Did she have to tell them why she looks different? Who cares?!? Hoping for the best next season. Really hoping Ryan Choi gets recruited into the team. I'm surprised he didn't show up after COIE. I'm not sure what Sara could be doing in space. Hanging with John Diggle wasn't the first thing that came to mind, but that could work. Bottom line: I still consider Legends of Tomorrow to be the best Arrowverse show. Even when it repeats old tricks (actress playing a different character, unexpected cameo at or near the end of the season), it's still good. And they seemed to learn that less Mona was a good thing. On the flip side, I kinda hope the Legends work out their frustrations on losing their beloved captain by kicking the crap out of Gary. Or maybe farm him out to STAR Labs. ETA: I meant season finale taking place in late May/early June. That doesn’t include Arrow and Black Lightning.

Bumping up in appreciation. I'm also worried about John and the load he's been carrying lately. I'm just waiting for the live one-hour episode. The first 55 minutes would be news clips followed by him shouting "FUCK!" The other five would be marble races, and all of the competitors would land inside John's throat. Honestly, I never thought the British guy from The Daily Show would make it this far, riding the wave of bullshit we know and do not know. Also: Hamsters in thongs.

Given the gap between filming and airing, I'm good with John not going for the hottest topic. Instead, he covered voting logistics, and I'm hoping this gets seen so that people would be ready for some actual bullshit. What is a boat shoe? Was that a dig at how Tucker is "extra" special? Quality insult, though. Thank you, John. You and your staff watch Fox News so I don't have to.

I think I speak for all Mets fans who grew up watching the team in the Eighties when I say: Oh, and the ‘86 Mets advance to the Dream Bracket semifinals. They’ll be facing the ‘75 Reds. The other semi: ‘01 Mariners vs. ‘04 Red Sox. Is there an index or wiki that lists baseball fights? I’m comparing/contrasting the Mets and Reds in my head, and I’m wondering if the Reds had to empty their bench at any point in 1975.

Great end to the season. Everyone got to be a hero. Even Jerry . . . albeit in the dumbest and saddest way possible. "You think you saved us, Jerry? I probably did ninety percent damage to Birdperson's optic crap, so he couldn't use thermal imaging to see you violating his girlfriend's body by using it as a puppet. Jesus Christ, Jerry, why the *burrrrrrpp* don't I kill you?" Naturally, we get an episode where Rick is a shitty father, and he doesn't know which Beth is his daughter. Luckily, everything turned out okay in the end, and we'll probably never get a straight answer. This is a universe where you can basically make a Death Star with zero openings for heroes to blow up, yet your downfall is that you had to be sponsored by Wrangler Jeans, and your death beam could be destroyed by Morty's pants. Let us not dwell on how long we'll have to wait for the fifth season. With the world being as it is, we'll probably keel over from impatience waiting for a lot of shows to return.

From the latest episode thread: I don't know if "politics" would be the right word. Here's my recap from when the episode originally aired. Basically, Emily didn't want a situation where Veronica would pry her dudebroyfriend James away from her, and Ruthie and Ellen went along with kicking her out. And when James was voted out (long story; Antoine had to be the deciding vote), Emily bailed on her team to be with him. As much as I can feel bad that Ruthie never got her title, as much as I feel like we missed out with Ellen only doing a single season, they were both weak for acquiescing with Emily. That wasn't a fun episode. This was before I started really loathing Veronica, and I got to see my favorite Melissa struggle on the course. Not good times.

Awwwww. I imagine fondue nights with those two and Casper Crump. And I did like the idea of the wings just popping up without wrecking clothing. Here are a few more Legends-themed sketches: Captain Cold by Kristen Gudsnuk (Big Apple Con 2016), Heat Wave by Steiner Palomino (Big Apple Comic Con 2017), Prof. Stein and Firestorm by Erik Klaus (East Coast Comicon 2017; this wound up drawn away from my sketchbook), and Atom by Bill Walko (New York Comic Con 2018).

Damnedest thing: every now and then, I checked IFC's schedule to see if there would be episodes airing following next week's offerings. I think they might be stopping after The Giant Spider Invasion and Parts: The Clonus Horror. I just checked Spectrum cable, and nothing has come up yet . . . but they have several episodes of Season 11 On Demand. I figured some of you might have a similar situation with your providers if you don't go for streaming. For me, it's listed under Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return. There are five episodes: Starcrash, The Land That Time Forgot, The Loves of Hercules, Yongary and Wizards of the Lost Kingdom. That is episodes 6-10, I am hyped because I haven't seen the last two. I dunno if IFC will post the other episodes or air them on the network, but I thought you guys should know. Today, IFC aired the last Comedy Central episodes. Escape 2000 was a horrific look fifteen years in the future, where the Bronx is a savage slum that is about to be unbelievably gentrified. Honestly, it's not as far removed from the actual year 2000 as I'd want. Shady corporations, really ugly gang members, and one a-hole named Toblerone Dablone that won't stop laughing. Also: goons in protective grey suits using flamethrowers. I think this would be considered an adult movie for pyromaniacs. Laserblast had the crew go to the edge of the universe, where they ascended into pure light. Or bliss. Or other stuff. Eh, it didn't stick when Sci Fi brought back MST3K. Anyway, we had a punk kid winding up with an alien weapon, and he turns into a green-skinned freak that shoots shit up. The aliens are stop-motion and look like what would happen if you tore turtles from their shells. We don't hear their speech turned into English, so they come better than the actual actors. Oh, and Leonard Maltin gave Laserblast 2 1/2 stars, and the crew pores through his book to find which movies were marginally better based on his rating system.

I forgot to post this when it first aired.

Three words: Book of Destiny. "Oh, and bee-tee-dubs: Lex Luthor can visit the Superman-cave a lot easier than ever before."

Checking to see who else watched the Doppio two-parter. Lovely to see that the Big Bads of Jojo are always going to be mentally fucked up. Split personalities is one thing. One of them having to turn anything into an imaginary phone to hear from the other is something else. On the bright side, the future visions laying out in Doppio's hair was a nice visual touch.

I made a table on the remaining number of episodes for each anime currently on Toonami. With MHA suspended for now, CN/[as]/Toonami has time to look for new anime . . . or grab some old stuff from the archive and slap it on the schedule. ETA: The number for each anime is from after tomorrow night.

Adult Swim has been bringing people to speak to the Class of 2020. You can probably guess how low on the list this guy was. Seriously, was Early Cuyler busy? 😜🤓 And here’s a quick clip from AS:

They’re using a computer simulation . . . though I haven’t checked to see if different stadiums are used, or there’s just the one park like in MicroLeague Baseball. Seriously, I’m the only one here who played that? 🤓🤓🤓 Mookie is hard not to love, isn’t he? I got SNY on now. Nolan Ryan threw 135 pitches in nine innings of Game 5 of the NLCS. And Dwight Gooden pitched ten innings. Can you imagine that today? ESPN anchors would be choking from the shock of it.

Trailer for final season has been released. And it looks like AoT will be going big this fall.

Checking MLB Dream Bracket . . . shit, they sped past the Sweet 16. I completely missed it! My original plan was to tell @mojoween that the '98 Yankees were eliminated by the '42 Kansas City Monarchs. Now I get to add that the '61 Bronx Bombers fell to the '04 Red Sox! If being petty in a pandemic is wrong, who'd want to be right? The '86 Mets are still in it. They beat the '94 Expos in 7, coming back from 3-1 to get the job done. Their opponent in the quarterfinals: the '95 Braves,. You might remember them as the only Braves team in the Nineties to win a World Series, and that came from beating the Indians AND coming off a 144-game season. The other series: '04 Red Sox vs. '54 Indians, '42 Monarchs vs. '01 Mariners, and '75 Reds vs. '60 Pirates. Additional news for Mets fans, and this won't come as a shock: SNY will be playing the 2015 NLCS next week.

Funny115: Stacy talks about Coach Benjamin, Chuckie the Cheese As for Stephen and JT . . . I believe Stephen nearly killed himself in the last two episodes of his second season because he did not want to go down as the guy who lost a unanimous vote to JT.